If you have Verizon, you can get a temporary phone for her to take with her. My parents did that the last time they went to Europe.

THANK YOU! I do have Verizon. I called them and for $20.00 she will have an "emergency only" phone. Calls that she makes (even to the US) are $1.50/minute. Texting is $0.50 per sent and $0.05 per received. She will be instructed to use it only in case of emergency. It's not a smart phone, so no data plan is available.

What about a prepaid credit card? You can get them from Walmart, Amex, CVS, etc. Load the funds and she is ready to go. If she loses it or it gets stolen then she'd be out that money, but someone won't have access to your credit info.

This is a good idea. I called my CC company and they don't have pre-paid cards available. Plus, they said, that their card is only now becoming available in France, so a lot of places might not accept the card.

New question . . . which is better? Visa or MasterCard? Anyone in France know?

Debbie506 -- you make a good point about spending money. I was thinking about food and shopping. There is a night cruise down the Seine which is included, along with passes to the Louvre, but you're absolutely correct with other touristy things that are not included. Thank you!

Most place accept Visa or MC with no problem. The prepaid cards can also be assigned a PIN for use with an ATM